KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 22 — Details of Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s medical records are confidential and can only be made known to the court if a formal request is made via a court order, said Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah today.
In a Facebook post this morning, Dr Noor Hisham also stressed that under the law, only the court has the right to access to any individual’s medical records.
“The Health Ministry is required to comply with the ethics of patient confidentiality under the Medical Act 1971 (Amendment 2012).
“Details on a specific patient can only be revealed to the court, if so ordered,” he wrote.
To note, a patient’s medical records are also allowed to be shared to third parties when there is mutual consent.
Dr Noor Hisham also said that Najib was admitted to the Kuala Lumpur Hospital (HKL) upon the advice of medical experts following a court order on September 12, after the former prime minister’s health condition was deemed “unsatisfactory”.
He added that the entire process was done in accordance with the Prison Act 1995.
Yesterday, the Prisons Department confirmed that Najib was transferred from HKL to Cheras Rehabilitation Hospital (HRC) on September 19 for further treatment.
In a statement, the Prisons Department also said that Najib will be returned to Kajang Prison to continue serving his 12-year sentence in his SRC International corruption case, once HRC or HKL medical experts give him the medical all clear.
Previously, on September 12, Dr Noor Hisham had issued a statement saying that Najib had been unanimously declared healthy by senior medical experts and discharged from HKL — after his hospitalisation on September 9.
